Józef Haczyński

Nurses in Poland — Immediate Action Needed

Abstract The aim of the study is to analyse changes in the size of the population of nurses in Poland in the years 2004-2014, considering changes in their employment and the phenomenon of ageing. The analysis is based on the data published by the Central Register of Nurses and Midwives of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Nurses are the largest professional group in the healthcare sector. In 2014, only above 70% of licensed nurses were professionally active. The percentage of employed nurses compared to the number of licensed nurses varied between the lowest ratio of 65.1% in 2005 and the highest ratio of 71.7% in 2012. The latest ratio of 2014 was 70.9%, which was slightly lower compared to the highest ratio in 2012. The average age of a Polish nurse in 2008 was 44.19 years, increasing by about six years to 50.1 within the analysed period. The population of nurses aged above 65 years is almost 4.5 times bigger compared to the youngest age group, which is 21-25 years. Thus, 2/3 of the population of nurses are 41-60 years of age and nearly 85% are over 40. For two years (2000 and 2014), the number of practising nurses per 1000 inhabitants places Poland in the fifth bottom position among the European countries, which shows a significant reduction in patient access to nursing services. In Poland, the profession of nurses has no replacement generation. The article presents the shortage of professionally active nurses in Poland. The existing register of nurses does not contain complete information necessary to evaluate the current situation in Poland. There is a strong need to improve the tracking system of the register of nurses to accurately monitor the number of nurses in Poland The shortage of professionally active nurses and their ageing necessitates immediate action to reduce the shortage by increasing the appeal of the profession among young people and by encouraging nurses to return to the profession. It is also necessary to take action to delay the retirement of those nurses who want to work longer and to use their potential. This is also particularly important because of the gap in experience, which is going to become apparent the nearest future.

Wynagrodzenia pielęgniarek w Polsce w latach 2010–2014

Nurses wages are controversial for years. The aim of the study was to analyze changes in the level of nurses wages in Poland in 2010–2014 based on available statistical data. In the analyzed period, the nurses salaries growth rate was the lowest, both in comparison with the average wages of people working in entities employing more than 9 persons and with wages of employees of other medical professions. After taking into account the inflation rate, 2.3% of decline in real nurses wages was observed in 2010–2014. Data from different sources show significant differences in the level of average nurses gross wages. It is therefore necessary to conduct comprehensive and reliable study on the salaries of workers in medical profession in Poland.

Happy and Healthy Aging : the Analysis of the Relationship Between Age, Health, Education and Happiness on International Social Survey Programme Data

The goal of this paper was the analysis of a relationship between subjective health, aging, education level and happiness based on the data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Health gets worse with age, and the effect was strongest in postsocialist Europe; the effect of education was weaker than the effect of age – the weakest in postsocialist countries. The interaction between age and education was significant in 4 out of 5 regions (non-significant in wealthy ones outside Europe), indicating a moderating effect of education on the negative relationship between age and health. Declared levels of happiness in postsocialist countries were the lowest among the analyzed regions in each age group, with a clear downward trend in the older age groups. It was shown that women declared a lower level of happiness compared to men in postsocialist countries.

Światowy rynek farmaceutyczny w dobie kryzysu gospodarczego

Kryzys finansowy, ktory dotkn ca ej gospodarki wiatowej, wywar stosunkowo niewielki wp yw na globalny rynek lekow. Utrzyma y si w ostatnich latach wcze niej zarysowuj ce si tendencje: stosunkowo niewielki wzrost wydatkow na leki w krajach wysoko rozwini tych, gwa towny wzrost wydatkow na leki na tzw. wschodz cych rynkach farmaceutycznych oraz znacz cy wzrost sprzeda y generykow, przy minimalnym wzro cie sprzeda y lekow oryginalnych. Na tle charakterystyki wiatowego rynku lekow przedstawiono rownie zmiany dokonuj ce si w ostatnich latach na rynku lekow w Polsce.